


A Moment To Breathe

by Prompt_Master



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Aftermath, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, the survivors are like family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-18 10:41:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28990866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Prompt_Master/pseuds/Prompt_Master
Summary: Makoto felt like he was floating away, only tethered down by the friends next to him. The giddiness he felt had his heart doing flips; his cheeks burned with how hard he was smiling. It wasn’t until he could really feel the world around him that he understood they won. They won. They lived against all odds. They were ok, they were together.Their silent processing was broken by a shrill cheer. Aoi threw up her arms, smiling brighter than the real sun, as she ran out the gates of the school.“Woooooo! We did it!” Aoi spun around, her smile was one that couldn’t be forgotten, “We’re really free! We did it!” she yelled.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 15





	A Moment To Breathe

Sunlight burned into their untrained eyes in the best of ways. It hurt, and it was so  _ real.  _ It was the realest thing they had felt in a long time. There was nothing left in their minds but the welcomed high of elation for the taste of freedom. They were free. They embraced the sting in their eyes, the chilled wind on their skin, the smell of smoke in the air… they had survived the killing game of class 78. 

Makoto felt like he was floating away, only tethered down by the friends next to him. The giddiness he felt had his heart doing flips; his cheeks burned with how hard he was smiling. It wasn’t until he could really  _ feel _ the world around him that he understood they won. They won. They lived against all odds. They were ok, they were together.

Their silent processing was broken by a shrill cheer. Aoi threw up her arms, smiling brighter than the real sun, as she ran out the gates of the school.

“Woooooo! We did it!” Aoi spun around, her smile was one that couldn’t be forgotten, “We’re really free! We  _ did it! _ ” she yelled.

“Y-... yeah…” Yasuhiro’s smile grew to match Aoi’s, who was currently jumping up and down in the ruined streets, “Yeah, we did do it…! Holy shit, we’re okay!” 

Yasuhiro joined Aoi in deliriously overjoyed laughter. He ran over and threw her into the air by the waist, spinning her in circles as the two celebrated with everything they had to offer. 

Makoto heard a hum next to him; glancing to his side he saw Byakuya with a relieved smile on his face- the largest smile Makoto had ever seen on him. It only hit Makoto then, after seeing Byakuya’s joy, that the hum he heard was one of affirmation. It was Byakuya’s own way of showing his excitement, watching the “idiots” of the group revel in the glory of their win.

Toko shuffled her feet towards the two, looking around at their surroundings with a sort of anxious wonder. But there was no denying the excitement she felt too, not with the awkward breathy giggle she had. Makoto wondered what sort of poetry was weaving together in her head to explain this beautiful feeling, if it could even be captured in words. 

“Fukawacchi!” Yasuhiro yelled, gently tossing Aoi back to solid ground. He opened his arms up wide for Toko, who flinched and watched him with a slightly guarded look, “C’mere, Fukawacchi!”

“W-wh-what? Why?! What do you-  _ kya! _ ” In no time at all Yasuhiro swept Toko into the air just like he did Aoi, spinning her around in unrelenting excitement. 

“Woohoo!” He cheered as Toko screamed for him to put her down, “We’re free, Fukawacchi!” Makoto was about to intervene when Toko’s screams died down and erupted into giggles. 

“It’s wonderful, isn’t it?” That soft voice left Makoto feeling ready to face  _ anything  _ so many times back in the game. And now Kyoko’s voice held a gentleness to it that almost made up for all he went through. 

“Yeah.” Makoto said, watching as Byakuya approached the group, only to shout in protest as he’s thrown. “I can’t believe it’s real.”

“It’s all because of you, Naegi-kun.” Her voice was so certain that it felt wrong to deny it, “We have you to thank for our happiness, and our future.”

Before he could respond she grabbed his wrist and gently tugged him towards the group. Already he could sense the energy winding down, they’d had a long day - no, they’d had a long month - after all. After getting back to solid ground, Byakuya angrily smoothed out his hair and clothes again. Aoi dropped down so that she was sitting on the floor next to Toko; who was telling Yasuhiro to never pick her up again with an open smile on her face. As though drawn to each other, the group followed suit. Eventually all of them were sitting on the floor, a bunch of teenagers alone together in this Hellish world. The world that had fallen apart in memories they might never get back.

Aoi laid on her back with her hands up in the air, staring at the beams of sunlight that passed through her fingers. Her fingers began to tremble as the adrenaline high wore off, her giggles tapering away. “We did it.” she said again, as though the mantra ensured nothing wrong would ever happen again. “We did it.” her tone flattened, the sky beyond her fingers was red and imposing. Ruined like the rest of the world, but still there.

“ _ We _ did it.” Aoi said. 

The mood was somber after that, no one truly knowing what to say. Or perhaps, they knew it was better to stay silent. They could give that moment away to those who did not make it out with them. Makoto hugged his knees to his chest, observing the fallen buildings around them. The world that was once prosperous was in ruins at their very feet. And with those ruins, there was an eerie silence to match. Earlier, the silence felt like the world stopping for just a second to let them celebrate. But now it felt like cold loneliness, like there was a long journey ahead of them.

“Are we alone?” Yasuhiro asked. Perhaps it was simply the exhaustion… or perhaps it was the somber mood, but he did not sound panicked as he normally would. Instead he was just… stating the obvious in a quiet voice, as though wary of the truth behind it.

“It would seem so.” Byakuya said, “I thought it would be more… hectic out here considering what she showed us.” 

Toko scooted closer to Aoi, who placed a hand on her back, “So, what d-d-do... we do now?”

“Yes.” Kyoko turned to Makoto, the trust in her eyes never wavered, “What should we do now, Naegi-kun?”

Everyone, even Byakuya and Toko, awaited Makoto’s word. They would not soon forget how he dragged them out of the pits of despair by their wrists. His words may be naive platitudes at times, but now more than ever they needed something to look forward to. 

“We find our future, of course!”

And Makoto was certain that they would find it. He felt that so long as they were together they could find a hope that was tangible and real. Something that could leave them feeling like  _ anything _ was possible. Forward was the only way to go, and they would walk that path together. With the unity they’ve formed from their experiences, how could anything hurt them ever again? They would function as each other's shield, sword, and support. They would spark the new age of hope. 

"I am not putting any amount of bleach in my body, Hagakure."

... So then why… Why were they stuck arguing  _ again?! _

Bickering had become somewhat of a routine as this point and it certainly didn’t help that the group was almost never apart. Sure, back in the school they felt claustrophobic and forced together, but now they didn’t even have the comfort of a private dorm. They had to pile into the worn down beds inside of ruinous apartment buildings that were just barely holding together.

Makoto watched from where he was confined to bed rest as Yasuhiro dragged his hands over his face in frustration. “Togamicchi, I promise it’s not going to kill you.”

“Oh yes.” Byakuya had his arms tightly crossed, glaring at Yasuhiro and the container of bleach in his hands, “Just like you promise your ‘predictions’ hold any sort of accuracy. And just like you swear all those ‘artifacts’ you bought were not scams.”

“Ah, c’mon! My mom taught me this trick, are you calling Ma a liar?!”

“Well. She  _ is  _ teaching her son to drink bleach, apparently-”

“It’s not a lot of bleach!”

“Honestly, I thought you weren’t moronic enough to try and kill us only  _ after  _ the killing game, but I can’t say I’m surprised.”

Makoto laid back against his makeshift pillow, letting the bickering fade away into background noise for his thoughts. The argument wasn’t going anywhere, they were just talking in circles again and again without making real progress. Just like how every time they travelled it felt like they put no distance between themselves and the school. 

It’s odd, isn’t it? They argued so much, and for what? Why were they still doing this? Makoto felt like they should have moved past all this the moment they stepped out of the school. They understood each other now, and they were the only allies around. And yet… the arguing continued. Why?

It almost felt like… they had never really escaped. It was an odd feeling, like something rotten was chewing at Makoto’s heart, but he truly felt stuck in the story Junko crafted for them. She had thrown them onto a dizzying rollercoaster of highs and lows, where the tone never held steady long enough for them to feel okay. Junko had created her own never ending cycle of despair and hope, a cycle that pushed both sides to the extremes.

They escaped the school, but not the cycle.

But Junko was the  _ creator  _ of the cycle. Shouldn't it have fallen with her? Why was her work still terrorizing them after her defeat? How much longer would they have to fight? Makoto knew the world wasn't ready… but he felt so underwhelmed with how little impact their win seemed to have. It was less that Junko created despair… and more like Junko was despair's foot soldier. 

"A-a-actually, Hagakure is right…" Toko piped in, letting out a little "Eep!" when Byakuya glared at her. 

She continued to speak, "I-it's not that I doubt you Byakuya-sama! But I-I did research for a novel and…" 

Silence… and then Byakuya uncrossed his arms. Makoto could feel the hope part of the cycle begin to work, a high to combat the low. And then another low would follow after. It would never end, despair and hope could not live without each other after all. 

That was life. 

There was a reason the two went hand in hand though. Makoto watched the group continue to laugh and tease each other as they worked to purify some drinking water. They were getting along just fine, like lovely friends. 

“What are you smiling for?” Kyoko asked him, it wasn’t accusatory, just curious.

Makoto let out a light laugh, admiring the way his friends all seemed attentive to him and his emotions, “Oh. It’s nothing.” 

His friends often said that they needed him to combat despair, but Makoto needed them back just as much. In a way, they had created their own cycle. A much more hopeful one, one that consisted of them lifting each other up. And if surviving the low points ahead of them meant getting to see his friends this at ease… Makoto would face despair every day, head on. He had to; after all, he made a promise to face the world. Not just him… all of them. 

It’s easy to forget things aren't perfect when you're so excited about winning. But just because things aren't perfect doesn't mean you won’t be ok.

**Author's Note:**

> Heyo hmu at prompt-master on tumblr


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